The Nets held a press conference this morning to announce that general manager Kiki Vandeweghe will take over for dismissed Lawrence Frank and coach the team for the rest of the season.

The news came as no surprise after reports of the decision surfaced last night. Vandeweghe was hesitant to accept the position until the Nets hired a top assistant. When they brought in former Lakers, Rockets and Bucks coach Dell Harris, Vandeweghe acquiesced.

“Rod is a very persuasive guy,” Vandeweghe said when asked how much prodding Nets team president Rod Thorn had to do to convince him to take the job.

“Because of his ability to work with young players, to get the best out of young players, he’s a natural for this job,” Thorn said.

Vandeweghe stressed player development for the 0-17 Nets, who are one loss away from the worst start in NBA history. They can break the record for futility when they play host to the Mavericks tomorrow night with assistant Tom Barrise coaching his second and final game before Vandeweghe takes over at Thursday’s practice.

Thorn said there was no point in hiring a permanent head coach because the Nets could have a new owner soon. Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov faces a vote by the NBA’s owners by the end of the month on his $200 million bid for the club.

“We’re going to try to let everybody see we are capable of winning games, that we do have some very good pieces here that will be here for quite a while that would make it more attractive for potential free agents at the end of the year,” he said.

Vandeweghe played 13 seasons in the NBA, including for the Knicks from 1988-92.

Del Harris worked with Nets All-Star guard Devin Harris while in Dallas, and he’s also familiar with another key building block, forward Yi Jianlian. Yi played for Harris on China’s 2004 Olympic team.

“He’s seen every situation possible,” Devin Harris said. “He was great for us in Dallas. He’s a voice of reason.”